- Gold reached an unprecedented price of $4,400 per ounce on December 19, 2025.
- BRICS countries are accelerating de-dollarization by heavily increasing gold reserves and introducing a gold-backed digital payment system.
- BRICS central banks hold over 6,000 tons of gold, with Russia and China controlling nearly 74% of these reserves.
- The dollar’s share in global foreign exchange reserves fell to a three-decade low of 56.32% in mid-2025.
- A new BRICS Precious Metals Exchange was launched to create independent trading of key metals outside Western financial centers.
Gold climbed to a record high of $4,400 per ounce on December 19, 2025, marking a historic milestone. This surge is linked to accelerated de-dollarization efforts by BRICS nations, who are aggressively increasing gold reserves and adopting a new gold-based settlement system to reduce dependence on Western financial infrastructure.
The BRICS bloc has amassed over 6,000 metric tons of gold, with Russia holding approximately 2,336 tons (over 40% of its reserves) and China holding about 2,298 tons. Together, these countries control roughly 74% of BRICS gold holdings. In 2025 alone, BRICS central banks purchased around 800 tons of gold, spending close to $105 billion despite rising prices. Brazil, Russia, and China bought nearly 20 tons in September 2025, investing approximately $2.5 billion.
The gold-backed BRICS Unit was launched in late 2025 as a digital tool for cross-border trade. Each Unit corresponds to one gram of gold and is backed by 40% physical gold and 60% national BRICS currencies. This system bypasses dollar-based payment channels, representing a major shift in international trade practices within the bloc.
By the third quarter of 2025, the proportion of gold in BRICS total reserves doubled from 6.4% to 12.9%. The World Gold Council reports that 73% of global central bankers expect the dollar’s global reserve share to diminish in the next five years, and 43% plan to raise their gold holdings. Canadian philanthropist and mining investor Frank Giustra highlighted the importance of physical gold, stating, “We’re now, believe it or not, in the era of hard money. If you own paper gold, you do not own gold. When the crunch comes, it will not be there.”
Gold prices increased more than 60% in 2025, supported by continuous central bank purchases, anticipated Federal Reserve rate cuts in 2026, and rising geopolitical tensions. Market expectations include two rate cuts next year. Goldman Sachs has raised its 2026 year-end gold price target to $4,900 per ounce, with Bank of America and J.P. Morgan projecting prices could reach $5,000. Natasha Kaneva, head of Global Commodities Strategy at J.P. Morgan, noted that “the long-term trend of official reserve and investor diversification into gold has further to run” and expects prices to near $5,000 per ounce by the end of 2026.
Meanwhile, the dollar’s share of global Forex reserves dropped to 56.32% in the second quarter of 2025, its lowest in over 30 years. To strengthen a multipolar financial system, BRICS announced the BRICS Precious Metals Exchange in October 2025, an independent platform for trading gold, platinum, and rare earth metals. This move aims to shift price discovery away from Western institutions like the London Bullion Market.
The record gold price and BRICS’ strategic actions illustrate a significant transformation in global reserve management and efforts toward financial independence from the U.S. dollar.
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